


When You're Near

by ariasalvatore



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Oblivious Derek, Pining, Sad Stiles, after 3x12, ahhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-24
Updated: 2013-08-24
Packaged: 2017-12-24 13:30:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/940544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariasalvatore/pseuds/ariasalvatore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek and Cora were about two hours outside of Beacon Hills when he got the first message. <em>‘You didn’t even say goodbye.’</em> It pained Derek to read it, Stiles was the most frustrating person he had ever known, and yet he was the most loyal. It had hurt Derek to leave the town, to leave him. But it’s what Cora wanted and it was what he needed, to get away. Derek couldn’t bring himself to reply to the message, he knew that he would convince himself to return, if he ignored Stiles he would be able to ignore that feeling in his chest that told him this was the worst decision he’d ever made.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When You're Near

Derek and Cora were about two hours outside of Beacon Hills when he got the first message. _‘You didn’t even say goodbye.’_ It pained Derek to read it, Stiles was the most frustrating person he had ever known, and yet he was the most loyal. It had hurt Derek to leave the town, to leave him. But it’s what Cora wanted and it was what he needed, to get away. Derek couldn’t bring himself to reply to the message, he knew that he would convince himself to return, if he ignored Stiles he would be able to ignore that feeling in his chest that told him this was the worst decision he’d ever made.

_‘I mean I know you never really liked me but come on Derek I saved your life enough times to at least warrant a goodbye of some sort.’_ That one hurt too because Derek didn’t want Stiles to think that he wasn’t cared about, Derek cared about Stiles more than anyone else in the pack, which made no sense to Derek and never would. Again, Derek ignored the message and hoped that he would be able to get through this without swinging the camaro around and returning home.

_‘I’d at least expect you to reply.’_ That was the worst one so far, Derek thought. He could picture Stiles waiting anxiously by his phone, hoping for a reply that Derek wasn’t ready to give. Stiles would think it was his fault, he would assume Derek was mad at him because of his lack of response, but really Derek wasn’t ready to admit to Stiles that the second he left all he wanted to do was come home, so he didn’t reply. He hoped that Stiles would stop sending him messages, he hoped that Stiles realised that Derek leaving was the best thing to ever happen to him, maybe he would be safe now.

...

It had been three months since Derek and Cora left, they were somewhere in Philadelphia, Derek didn’t really know how, but Cora seemed to be enjoying herself here, so they hadn’t left yet. Derek could really see her settling here, but he had seen that in the many other cities they’d stayed in. Cora was happy anywhere that wasn’t Beacon Hills, but Derek couldn’t be happy anywhere but. He hadn’t heard from Stiles, and he kept telling himself that it was for the best that Stiles gave up but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt that he did. It hurt more because he seemed to have given up so quickly, which wasn’t like Stiles at all. He was the most persistent person Derek had ever known, it was what made him so good at research, it was what made him Stiles. 

Derek was getting worried because he hadn’t heard from him, he tried to convince himself that Stiles had just moved on, but Stiles doesn’t just move on, he’s loyal. He was in love with a girl for half of his life, he wouldn’t just let his friends leave and not bother them constantly.

Derek was scared that maybe Stiles wasn’t pestering him was because Stiles didn’t really want him to come back, but that couldn’t be true. Stiles had saved his life many times, and it never seemed to bother him. He always wanted to save him. He was always the one to tell Scott that they had to come back for him. Stiles was the one that cared. Stiles is the one who cares.

Cora insisted that the easiest way to find out what was going on was to just call Stiles and ask him if he was alright. Derek had told her he didn’t want to be obvious about how he felt and she just rolled her eyes, insinuating that Derek was obvious. He desperately hoped he wasn’t because that just meant that Stiles didn’t want to reciprocate the feelings that Derek had for him, and that was too painful for Derek to think about.

He decided that the easiest thing to do was to call Scott, he could say it was because he needed to know how the pack was doing, especially Isaac, as Scott had only recently become alpha and he would need support and advice, and Derek could just ask about Stiles. He could sneak it into the conversation.

Before he could change his mind Scott answered with a quick “What?”

“Scott, it’s Derek.” Derek said, cautiously.

“I know. What do you want?” Scott snapped back.

Derek could hear it in his voice, Scott was angry. “I wanted to check in.”

“Check in? None of us have heard a peep from you in three months, I’m getting on fine, but some of us needed you Derek.” Scott bellowed.

“Who do you mean by some of us?” Derek asked, suddenly worried. They would’ve told him if something was wrong, wouldn’t they?

“I don’t think he’d want me to say.” Scott murmured, suddenly unsure of how much he could say.

“Scott, if it’s Isaac, I’m sure you can get through to him.” Derek said, and he could hear his own impatience in his voice.

“It’s not Isaac you moron, it’s Stiles.” Scott practically shouted down the phone. That got Derek’s attention.

“What do you mean? Is he ok? Is he hurt? Scott, please tell me he’s ok.” Derek said frantically.

“No he’s not, I mean he’s not physically hurt but he’s not alright either. But I’m not going to be the one telling you this, he needed you and you left, that’s your mistake and you need to fix it yourself.” Derek was about to reply when he heard the beep that told him that Scott had hung up on him.

Derek was confused. He thought leaving would be good for the pack and good for Stiles. But from what Scott was saying Stiles wasn’t doing very well and Derek could have made that better, but he didn’t know how. He had never been a good friend to Stiles, he had never been there when he was needed most and he didn’t know how he was supposed to start now.

...

Derek waited three days before he couldn’t stand it anymore, and he threw some clothes in a duffel bag, told Cora he’d call her and jumped in the camaro.

He didn’t really know why he was doing it, Stiles shouldn’t mean that much to him, but he did and there was nothing Derek could do about it. Stiles was everything to him, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t shake him, he was just scared. All the people he had ever loved had left him betrayed him or died and Derek couldn’t bear to think of that happening to Stiles. Stiles was innocent, he was protective of the people he cared about and could never give up on something, Derek didn’t know why Stiles hadn’t given up on him a long time ago.

Though maybe he had, three weeks is a long time for Stiles to not talk to someone. Maybe Stiles had finally given up, maybe he’d stopped trying to get Derek to care. He wished so hard that it wasn’t true, because Derek had always cared. And he’d never stop. How could he, Stiles was the easiest person to love.

The thought that maybe Stiles had given up on him didn’t stop Derek from practically speeding to get to Beacon Hills. If Stiles wasn’t ok, Derek needed to know why. He knew it was probably his fault based on how angry Scott was, but making sure Stiles wasn’t dying was more important than his own safety right now, he would do anything to keep Stiles happy.

...

It was way into the night when Derek pulled up a few streets down from where Stiles lived. He didn’t want to risk anyone seeing his car to close to the Stilinski household but at the same time he didn’t want to be too far away if Stiles didn’t want him there. He hoped desperately that Stiles would want him there, he hadn’t seen him in over three months and it hurt. He needed to see Stiles smile or make a sarcastic comment that really wasn’t appropriate when everyone was being killed. He just needed Stiles. 

Derek didn’t really want to climb through the window, he wanted to do this properly. To do the doorbell and see Stiles’ face when he realised that Derek was back. But it was the middle of the night and Derek was scared that the look on Stiles’ face would be nothing but anger or betrayal. So he went through the unlocked window, and a small part of him hoped that Stiles had kept it unlocked just in case Derek ever needed to come home.

He was just pulling the window open when Stiles shot up from the bed clutching a baseball bat.

“My dad’s the sheriff, so you better not kill me.”

Derek was proud of him for being so ready to stand up for himself, but also worried that he had to be ready for a murderer sneaking through his bedroom window.

“Stiles, it’s only me.” Derek said as he pushed himself through the window and straightened up once he was in the room.

“Derek? What are you even doing here?”

“Scott said you weren’t doing too good, and I wanted to see if you were ok.”

“Scott said that did he? Well isn’t that great for Scott. At least he’s fucking happy. You know what Derek, you have no right to climb through my bedroom window at three o’clock in the morning anymore. You lost that when you disappeared for three months, I trusted you and I needed you, and you weren’t here and I feel apart.”

“Stiles I-”

“No Derek.” Stiles said abruptly, cutting him off. “You do realise that I was in love with you right? Like I made it painfully obvious, and yet you didn’t notice. But there was no way you didn’t notice unless you really are just that stupid.”

Stiles stopped shouting and Derek gave him a second to catch his breath before he spoke up. “I really am that stupid Stiles.”

“What?” Stiles snapped, looking Derek straight in the eye.

Derek took a deep breath, if he was going to confess everything now was the time to do it. “Stiles, I left because I thought it would be best for you, I left because I thought it would make your life easier, and as soon as I heard that it wasn’t I came straight back, for you.”

“Well that’s just great Derek, except it really didn’t make my life better. You know what Deaton said about a darkness around our hearts? I feel it, I feel it every fucking day and there is nothing I can do about it. Scott and Allison are both fine because they have Isaac, I don’t really want to know what’s going on there but they have him in a way I have nobody, in a way I always wanted you. I needed you to stay, I’ve been having nightmares and I haven’t slept in weeks, and I just gave up.”

That was something that Derek couldn’t stand to hear, Stiles wasn’t one to give up. And it was his fault, Derek was kicking himself, he should have just told Stiles how he felt and never felt. Now it was too late.

“I missed you.” Stiles mumbled so quietly Derek was sure he was hearing things, but from the look of absolute vulnerability on Stiles’ face Derek knew he hadn’t. Before he could realise what he was doing he was striding across the room to where Stiles was standing next to his bed. He cupped Stiles’ jaw with his hands and leant over so their foreheads were resting against each other, noses grazing. 

“Stiles, I didn’t reply to your texts because I knew the moment you asked me to come back I would. I didn’t call because the sound of your voice would make me heart stutter and I would’ve jumped in the camaro and been at your side in an instant. If I’d have known that you were here hurting, I never would’ve left.” With that he glanced up to see Stiles’ eyes filled with tears, ready to break. That alone broke Derek. Stiles deserved endless happiness.

“Thankyou.” Stiles whispered, his lips grazing over Derek’s own.

“For what?” Derek replied, confused. Stiles was hurting and it was all his fault, he deserved no thanks, he deserved Stiles to kick him out.

“For coming back.”

“I’ll never leave you again Stiles.” Derek whispered, and then he was thrown when Stiles closed the small gap and pressed his lips against Derek’s.

Derek wasn’t going to hold back anymore, he remove his hands from Stiles’ face and wrapped them around his waist as Stiles’ fingers went up to stroke through his hair. Derek felt Stiles move his head so that he could deepen the kiss, and it was fantastic. When Stiles bit on Derek’s lower lip, he heard a moan escape from his own mouth, and that seemed only to push Stiles further as he traced his tongue around Derek’s lips before parting his own and letting Derek in. 

Suddenly Stiles pulled away, and Derek thought he did something wrong. “If you’re still mad at me, I can go.”

Stiles laughed at that, and it was the most amazing sound Derek had heard in months. “Shut up idiot, as much as I am enjoying the making out, can we maybe sleep?”

“I thought you were having trouble sleeping?”

“I have a feeling tonight’s going to bet the first night I wake up when it’s light outside.”

Derek smiled, a private smile just for Stiles as they climbed into his too small bed. Derek felt Stiles turn over to face the wall and he wrapped himself around him, finally where he knew he felt right. Wrapped around Stiles, protecting him from all the pain in his world. This was the first place Derek had felt at home in a long time, and he never wanted to leave.

As he felt Stiles pull him closer, he was pretty sure Stiles wouldn’t let him either, and Derek was content.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm pretty sure everyones written this already, but who really cares! thank you for reading, comments are greatly appreciated! ps my tumblr is dylanobhrien


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